Salem returns to his first class with an excuse note. Throughout the class he was focussing on his recent panic attack. Wondering what could cause him to have one, then he remembered how he felt through the car ride to school.
Scared. Disappointed. Sad. Grief.
He had a panic attack because he lost one of the closest things he had to friend, because he was a coward and to scared to move.
Salem breathing becomes irregular again.
RING!
The bell wakes him up and brings his breathing pattern back.
He gets up and goes to his second class of the day. His head held down, before someone taps his shoulder.
Amelia: "How was class? Feel like turning to fire again?"
She smiling with her teeth that are surprisingly bright for a girl that smokes.
Salem looks over at her with a look of wonder, then one of freight, because he doesn't want anyone to know who or what he is.
Amelia: "Kidding. Smile and look up... or else you'll get scoliosis."
Salem: "I don't think, I'll get scoliosis from looking down too much. That mostly comes with old age."
Amelia scoffs.
Amelia: "Whatever."
She rolls her eyes. and begins walking off.
Amelia: "Anyway remember your promise. Meet me by the pool area after school."
She turns a corner from the endless lockers and disappeared out of sight.
Salem: "I never promised anything..?"
He continues walking and unknowingly follows her advice of looking up, but the look of sadness still on his face.
Both unknown to Salem and Amelia, there was Cherie both her and her posse looked at Amelia, with a somewhat mean, smug, look in their eye.
Cherie: "Let's go to the pools after school?"
Random girl: "That'd seem nice and fun."
Salem second class gets quickly finished without that much of a problem. The same could be said with his third period class as well.
His fourth period class on the other hand is one that has a problem because the teacher.
An old decrepit, balding old man, with an attitude that could rival a honey badger. Decides that a pop quiz is needed for today.
Salem seems surprised at first then takes a breath of air as he slowly and steadily finished his test, the test was a bad thing for most of the students, but for Salem it was a good thing.
He slowly got his mind off of the death and focused and something else entirely, for the rest of the class. When the bell rung, Salem just barely finished the test on time, as many others rushed through it and wanted it done with.
He walks out the class and toward the other part of the school building. The pool area, but Salem decides to wait fifteen minutes before going there because he's afraid to be seen going in there.
After the fifteen minutes pass an he's been aimlessly walking around he goes to the pool area and as he gets to the door he hears yelling from inside. At first he doesn't feel like going inside because he's too afraid but then...
Amelia: "Guys stop... PLease!"
Then she silenced again by the yelling.
Salem opens the door, with a BANG!
Everyone inside the pool area looks at him.
Three girls are with Cherie, all of them following her style of dressing. One of the other girls seem to be in a full kicking position above Amelia, as she's about to connect with her stomach, before Salem came in.
Amelia is breathing erratically. As she lies on the ground near the pool, with water soaking into her brightly colored uniform. As she looks away from THe doors entrance.
She weezes.
Out of the corner behind the girl, and behind the bleachers is Charlie, or as his friends like to call him "White Boy."
He looks at Salem with a smile as Salem takes a few steps to Amelia.
As he gets closer to Amelia. A girl steps in front of him and stops him, Charlie then begins to walk toward them from behind Cherie.
Girl stopping Salem: "Where are you going?"
She laughs then everyone else laughs.
Salem tries to step around her. She follows his footstep and blocks him again.
Salem: "Ec.. Excuse me..."
Salem feels those words barley stumble out of his mouth.
Charlie: "Let him through Francine."
Charlie walks past them now, blocking Amelia from Salem.
The girl steps out the way toward the bleachers as she then sits dow on them for Salem to pass.
Salem walks up to Charlie, but his body movement holds little to no confidence whatsoever, and his breathing is erratic, but he is the same height as Charlie.
Random girl on bleachers: "Don't hurt him to bad White Boy."
She chuckle, then he chuckles.
Charlie: "Who the hell are you?"
Salem looks down at Amelia, then he looks up slightly scared. He's never been in an altercation before in his life. He went to school, then to work, then home. Today was different because Amelia helped him. He wanted to be nice and help her...
Salem: "My name is Salem..."
His breathing is haggard.
Amelia turns her body toward Salem and looks at his scared face.
Amelia: "Careful he'll beat you up."
Amelia barley gets those words out.
Charlie, Cherie and the posse, along with Salem all look down to her, wondering who she's talking about.
Cherie then gives Amelia a kick to her stomach. Making her groan and her glasses goes flying off her face, giving it another crack. If flies behind the girls.
Charlie looks back at Salem.
Charlie: "Salem..? Like.. the small black boy Salem?"
He says with genuine curiosity.
Cherie: "Charlie... THAT was borderline racist..."
She sounds dumbfounded by what Charlie said.
Charlie then looks at her.
Charlie: "How else I'm I suppose to describe him?"
Cherie: "That's fair."
He turns his attention back to Salem.
Charlie: "I'm I right?"
Salem nods and tries to step around Charlie as well.
Charlie lets him go.
Salem then kneels down to Comfort Amelia. Unsure of what to do with his hands.
Salem then feels a sharp pain in his shoulder as he's kicked toward the bleachers and has his back against it.
Charlie kicked him and is smiling about it.
Charlie: "You know I heard you two losers... Wait... wait Salem? Freak... you use roids..? How'd you get that big?"
Charlie looks confused at Salem.
Salem looks at his shoulder then grabs it. His arm hurts... He's never been hit like this before... the submerged pain from before seeps into his brain. The time when his father came home and...
Charlie slaps Salems face, trying to wake him from his fantasy.
Charlie: "Wakey, Wakey bud... Are you sure your a man?"
Charlie then gets up and moves back. His legs fully reined backwards.
Quickly Charlie throws his shin to Salem's head. Salem barley even blocked his face from being hit, but the kick still pushed Salems hand to his head and he got dazed for a little.
Charlie kneels down again and slaps Salem.
Charlie: "Are you going to answer me?"
Salem wakes again from his dizziness.
Salem: "Ye..Yes?"
Charlie: "You still the same small Salem? From like forever ago?"
Salem: "Ye... Yes, I am."
Charlie laughs.
Charlie: "Dude I was scared, You know? When you came in I thought you would beat my ass. Turns out you're just a wimp."
The posse laughs and then Salem gets punched from beside his face.
One of the girls that was sitting on the bench seemed to want to get a sneaky lick in, since he was seemingly defenceless.
They all laugh again.
Salem: "Ca.. Can we stop. Plea... please?"
Salem lets out as his mouth hurts from his own hand hitting his face. He tries rubbing it to soothe the pain.
Charlie backs up and continues his laugh.
Charlie: "Sure... bud..?"
He reels his leg back again and this time turns his body as he runs into Salem and kicks him. Square in the face.
Blood begins to rush out of his nose. As Charlie steps back from him.
His laugh so loud... and annoying. The rest of them laugh even more.
Cherie kicks Amelia in her back once more.
Then she steps over her as they all begin to wake out the exit. Charlie throwing his arm over Cherie.
One of the girls behind them fakes out Salem, and he picks up his arm instinctively, he's scared of being hit.
He could have fought back. He could have won too, but deep down he's still a coward, that can't even speak up against people, that are doing something that is very obviously wrong.
As the girl walks away they all exit the pool area. The door opening with a Bang. One of the girls get scared as they exit, the door closing automatically behind them.
Salem looks at the pool as the blood rushes out of his nose, decorating his blue and white uniforms, with bright spots of red.
Salem remembers moments from his childhood days and freezes.
Wonder: 'Salem. The girl.'
Wonder tells him inside his mind. Salem looks left because out of the corner of his eye. Wonder is right.
Amelia is gripping her stomach and wincing in pain as she breathes heavily.
Salem wakes from himself and crawls to her on his hands and knees, before he grabs Amelia and brings her to the bleachers. Making her sit up on the bench.
He looks at her face sees something missing and turns. He sees her glasses and goes to grab it and give it to her.
Amelia takes it from him and put it on, seeing the crack, this time another right down the middle.
Amelia groans, then winces, then groans again.
Amelia looks at Salem as he holds her up on the bleachers.
Amelia: "Why didn't you fight back?"
Salem shakes his head and then looks down afraid of her judgment of him, he goes to her side and sits down.
Salem: "I... I was scared."
Amelia looks at Salem surprised at his answer.
Amelia: "How? You're like super strong and you are the burning man?"
Salem looks at her, he's happy at the compliment, but he looks down again.
Salem: "I'm a coward..."
Salem then remembered the reason for his panic attack.
Salem: "I'm a coward. I'm a coward."
His tears build up behind his eyes.
Salem: "I'm a coward. I'm a coward. A coward that let his friend die. A coward that made a family, not have their father anymore. A coward that can't stand up for himself."
Tears then begin to fall from his eyes as his tears drop, blood and mucus mixing as they fall from his nose.
Amelia: "It's okay Salem, I didn..."
She cut off.
Salem: "I have the power to stop almost anything and I'm still so much of a coward to move once I feel danger. Why can't I move?"
He looks at Amelia as his tears stream out of his face in different ways.
Salem: "Why couldn't I move Amelia?"
Amelia thinks that he's talking about, Salem not moving to stop her from being hit.
Amelia moves closer and puts her arms around Salem, hugging him in a tight grip, she winces again as her arms wrap around him.
Amelia: "I didn't know that's how you felt... I'm sorry Salem."
Salem slowly backs away from Amelia.
Salem: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you have to do that when you are in pain too. I'm sorry for making you do something that wasted your time."
Amelia smiles and pulls herself away as well, then she tilts her head and gives him a stern look.
Amelia: "It's okay that I helped you but, you of all people shouldn't be talking like that."
Salem: "Like what?"
Amelia: "Telling someone else that they did something like comforting you is a waste of time. You saved the Island for gods sake."
Salem wipes his tears and a smirk appeared on his face.
Amelia: "You saved everyone... You shouldn't be embarrassed for me making a waste of MY time. You saved me... I should've said I'm thankful to even be in your presence."
Salem lets out a chuckle.
Salem: "I'm sorry for that... I.. I didn't know how to react... I've had my mind on the death of a friend for a while and I felt like I needed to talk to someone before I exploded."
Amelia tilts her head at his surprised response.
Amelia: "I'm not dead?"
Salem then figures out he thought that he confused her.
Salem: "Oh... I'm sorry this was yesterday..."
Salem then told her what happened yesterday, everything for Salem and Stone and the wiggly white thing, while leaving out the fact that Salem was slightly possessed by a phoenix.
After the explanation, they both sit there, quietly.
Amelia pulls out a cigarette pack and a zippo lighter from her left pocket. She flips open the lighter, then lights the cigarette.
Salem looks at her with surprise, Amelia then looks at her with a settlement of wonder, then looks at the cigarette and offers it to him.
He shakes his head and just stares at her for a while.
Amelia: "It's rude to stare you know?"
Salem then looks down again. His eyes hurt from crying, and his nose stings from the blood sticking to his nose.
Salem: "Sorry. I'm just surprised that they let you do that."
Amelia: "They wouldn't, I hide it them, go hide somewhere in private to smoke."
Salem: "What about the day we both saw each other?"
Amelia chuckles slightly.
Amelia: "I didn't see the news that day... but who was going to stop me from smoking if they saw me that day?"
Salem shrugs his shoulder.
Salem: "I don..."
Salem phone goes off.
An alarm, he sets for himself to remind him when Mickey gets home.
Salem gets up.
Salem: "Thank you Amelia... but I have to get home before my brother gets there."
Amelia nods, as Salem rushing in the opposite direction of her toward the door.
Bang!
Amelia and Salem both jump.
Amelia: "Dammit!"
Her cigarette dropped into the watery tiles.
As Salem disappears from her sight she decides that it's time for her to go as well.